a small one. For the rooftop garden.”
He did look up this time. “Your neighbors would complain.”
“I don’t like my neighbors.” That earned her a slight smile. “So, what’s the plan when we get back to civilization?”
“With any luck, things can go back to normal.”
Two questions flitted through her mind. Luck for who? And, what’s normal? She didn’t voice either of them. “Okay.”
“I still need you there, at Roasted, until Amudee signs off on the deal.”
“Right.” She looked down at her hand. The ring was still there. “You’ll want this back, I assume.” She pulled the ring off and got up, walking over to his seat and depositing it on the desk in front of him. “Since we won’t need it.”
A relief. Wearing another woman’s ring made her feel weighted down.
“No. We won’t.” His eyes met hers and held. She felt heat prickle down her arms, her nipples tightening as a flash of arousal hit her.
“Great. I’ll um … I’m going to try to sleep.”
As she drifted off in the plane’s bedroom, she tried not to be disappointed that Zack didn’t join her.
“Amudee is coming here.”
Clara looked up and saw Zack. For the first time since they’d landed in San Francisco three days earlier. She’d taken a couple of days to get over her jet lag, and had sneaked around the office yesterday like a cat burglar, trying to get work done without encountering him.
Because ultimately, avoiding him was simply easier than trying to juggle all the emotions she felt when she saw him. Cowardly? Yes, yes, it was. But she felt a bit yellow-bellied after all that had happened between them, and she was wallowing in it.
“What?”
“He’s coming here to see how we run our operation. He wants to talk to employees, to see where we work. If we truly do conduct business in an ethical manner.”
Zack reached into his pocket and took out an overly familiar velvet box. He set it on the edge of her desk, his expression grim. “And now it continues. And every single person working in the this office has to believe it, too.”
“Zack this can’t. It has to end.”
“It will. After. And you can take as much money as you need for a start-up. You can have my blessing, hell, you can have free Roasted coffee for the first five years. But I want this deal to go through.”
“Ironic that you’re trying to convince him of your business ethics by using a lie,” she said, annoyance spiking inside her.
“Odd that it’s necessary, too, don’t you think?”
“He’s a nice man.”
“And a romantic, it seems. He loves you. He wants to make sure he sees us together as a couple again while he’s here.”
“Tangled web,” she snapped, putting her pencil down on the desk.
“Isn’t it?”
The air between them seemed to crackle, everything slowing for a moment, the silence so tense and brittle she was certain she could splinter it into tiny pieces if she spoke.
“Put it on,” he said, looking at the ring.
“I gave it back,” she said tightly.
“Clara, I need you to do this for me.”
She fought the urge to make a rude gesture with a different finger than the one meant for a ring and grabbed the box, opened the lid and slid the ring on. “There.”
“Come on.”
“What?”
“We have to make an announcement.”
“Zack …”
“We’re going to see this through, right? Then you can leave. Whatever you need to do, you can go do it, but finish this with me.”
“Fine.” She stood up and rounded the desk, he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her to him. Heat exploded in her, stronger than she remembered, more arousing than anything had a right to be.
Instantly she was assaulted by images of their night together. His mouth, his hands, the way it had felt when he was over her, in her. It was torture. She clenched her hands into fists and the heavy ring band bit into her fingers.
There was a small group of employees who worked on her floor, their desks clustered in the center of the room. Roasted’s office had a social atmosphere, which Zack had always believed made for optimum creativity. Because Zack was a great boss, the kind who made everyone feel appreciated, all the time.
And he never, ever showed the dark, tortured side of himself she’d seen in Chiang Mai. He never showed the intense, sexual side of himself, either. But she’d seen it. She’d felt it.
“Clara and I have an announcement to make.”
Ten heads instantly popped up, eyes trained on her and Zack. Her heart started pounding, her palms sweating. It was one thing to lie to a man she’d never met before. A thing she hated. But it was really quite another to lie to people she worked with every day. People who she considered her friends.
“We’re getting married,” he said.
“Pay up.” Cynthia, a woman with gray hair and pronounced smile lines turned to Jess, a twenty-something computer whiz who did their online marketing.
Jess swore and took his wallet out.
“What is this?” Clara asked.
“Congratulations,” Cynthia said, beaming. “We had bets placed on this. I bet you would get married. Most everyone changed sides when Mr. Parsons got engaged to someone else. But I held out. And now I’m collecting.”
“Unbelievable,” Clara muttered. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this revelation, either. A little bit flattered that people believed it was possible.
“Clearly I’m not giving people enough work to do,” Zack said.
“Kiss her!” This from Jess, who undoubtedly considered it a consolation prize.
Everything inside Clara seized up, her muscles locking tight. Zack looked down at her, his fingers brushing her jaw. He dipped his head and kissed her. A perfectly appropriate kiss to give her in front of his employees. Nothing scandalous or overly sexual. But it grabbed hold of her world and shook it completely. Shook her.
When he lifted his head there was a smattering of applause. “Feel free to spread the news,” Zack said, lacing his fingers through hers and leading her toward his office.
He closed the door tightly behind him, taking long strides to the far window that overlooked the bay, his back turned
